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Division Spotlight
Materials Science & Technology
The objectives of MSTD are: promote the advancement of materials science in Nuclear Science Technology; support the multidisciplines which constitute it; encourage research by providing a forum for the presentation, exchange, and documentation of relevant information; promote the interaction and communication among its members; and recognize and reward its members for significant contributions to the field of materials science in nuclear technology.
Meeting Spotlight
ANS Student Conference 2025
April 3–5, 2025
Albuquerque, NM|The University of New Mexico
Standards Program
The Standards Committee is responsible for the development and maintenance of voluntary consensus standards that address the design, analysis, and operation of components, systems, and facilities related to the application of nuclear science and technology. Find out What’s New, check out the Standards Store, or Get Involved today!
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Latest News
X-energy, Dow apply to build an advanced reactor project in Texas
Dow and X-energy announced today that they have submitted a construction permit application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a proposed advanced nuclear project in Seadrift, Texas. The project could begin construction later this decade, but only if Dow confirms “the ability to deliver the project while achieving its financial return targets.”
R. Austin Freeman, Thomas Martin, Elwyn Roberts, Travis W. Knight (Univ of South Carolina)
Proceedings | 2018 International Congress on Advances in Nuclear Power Plants (ICAPP 2018) | Charlotte, NC, April 8-11, 2018 | Pages 605-611
Uranium Silicide (U3Si2) is being evaluated as a fuel for use in light water reactors as its desirable thermophysical properties suggest an improvement over UO2 with respect to accident tolerance, However, much is still unknown about the in-reactor performance of U3Si2, making an accurate assessment of the fuel challenging. To better understand the behavior of U3Si2 across a wide range of possible environments, high temperature compressive creep testing has been performed on U3Si2 pellets. Using the combination of constant stress and constant temperature testing, a numerical model was developed that can predict both primary and secondary creep rates under a wide range of temperature and stress conditions. This model was implemented in BISON, a coupled multi-physics finite element nuclear fuel performance code, to simulate the performance of U3Si2 under a range of reactor conditions and analyze the effect of creep on fuel behavior from startup through pellet-clad mechanical interaction (PCMI). These models indicate that while thermal and irradiation volumetric effects are dominant during normal operation, under extreme stresses and temperatures creep can become a significant factor. Specifically, under PCMI creep was found to have a noticeable impact on the rate of stress change in the cladding and could extend the lifetime of the cladding by months.